Old Man Winter Rally offers huge $10,000 COVID safe prize purse for top finishers!

Race organizer worked with Boulder County, CO to create a 9-day, fully supported event for runners and cyclists on iconic mixed terrain courses

Boulder, CO. (January 5, 2021) – The event industry has been one of the hardest hit during the COVID pandemic with most events either being cancelled or produced virtually. Adventure Fit, a Boulder-based event marketing and production company saw many of their events cancelled in 2020, yet was determined to get creative in 2021. “We’ve witnessed the toll that a season of no events has taken on the running and cycling community and we knew there had to be a way to bring everbody together for a fun and safe event this February.” said Josh Kravetz, Adventure Fit’s President. “We worked with Boulder County to come up with a modified format that could run even if group gatherings are highly restricted due to COVID. We’re happy to report that we’ve been given the green light to continue our epic winter adventure…in modified form”, Kravetz explains.

The Old Man Winter Rally is a very popular winter cycling and running event, known for its unique mixed terrain courses and huge after party. 2021 will be the 7th year for the event, which is hosted in Lyons, Colorado. The 2021 version of the event will be a bit different than in past years, but still allow for a fun event experience. The courses will be open from Saturday February 6th to Sunday February 14th, allowing for the number of riders and runners to be dispersed. When participants register, they choose a day and start time on one of the weekend day. They can rally their ‘pod’ or family to ride/run with them as long as the groups are fewer than 10. This number could rise as COVID restrictions lessen. There will be other participants on the course, however registration spots are limited to keep the number of participants dispersed.

There will be fully stocked aid stations, offering single serving packages of bars, cookies, drinks, gels, and more. Water can be refilled using a custom designed foot pedal for water coolers. Participants’ performance will be tracked using the Ride with GPS app, which will offer turn-by-turn navigation and display results on a live leaderboard. Times will be tracked throughout the 9 day period and participants can run or ride the courses multiple times. Only the registrants’ best time will show on the online leader board. Participants who are concerned about contact with others can ride or run during weekdays on empty courses, however only weekend days will offer aid stations.

When coming up with the idea for the format, Kravetz thought about most important elements of Old Man Winter Rally. “Riding with my friends pushes me to go harder, so it’s really important that there is the option to ride with a crew. The Old Man Winter courses are so unique, so I wanted to be able to compare times to normal years. Finally, it’s nice to travel light, eat good food, and stay hydrated at aid stations. The after party is great, but I think we all understand why that can’t happen quite yet.” After riding or running, participants get a coupon for a meal and beer at Oskar Blues in Lyons, where they can eat outside or take the food to go.

Old Man Winter Rally will offer a huge $10,000 prize purse for top finishers including almost $5000 in cash for the top 5 men and women on the 100km bike course. On weekends, there will be foam snowflakes scattered througout the course. If a participant finds one, it can be redeemed for one of 100 prizes from Specialized, OtterBox, and other event sponsors. Leading up to event week, Adventure Fit offers a series of free “Adventure Training Rides and Runs”. These are socially distanced checkpoint training events that bring together the running and cycling community in a variety of Front Range cities.

The Old Man Winter Rally attracts Olympians and other world-class professional athletes, however it was created to be a fun winter adventure for all abilitities. Riders can choose from the 50km or 100km course, while a 10km course is offered for runners. There is also a Run / Bike combo, which offers prizes for the fastest times on the 10km run and 50 km bike courses.

Registration is currently open at http://www.OldManWinterRally.com and spots are expected to fill up.